Improving the management of dryland salinity in Australia through the national airborne geophysics project

Abstract

A comprehensive evaluation of the application of airborne geophysics to the management of dryland salinity is currently underway in Australia. Known as the National Airborne Geophysics Project (NAGP), it is a joint initiative of the Commonwealth and State Governments designed to assess the value-added contribution that can be made by time domain EM, frequency domain EM, magnetics and radiometrics to those data (including topography, soils and satellite imagery) already in use for salinity management. The project will concentrate on five selected catchments in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. The focus of the project will be to define the geological characteristics, to measure three-dimensional variability in conductivity in the regolith system, and to determine the spatial variability in soil characteristics. The analysis will allow the derivation of products such as maps showing salinity hazard, water resource target, soils, regolith conductivity and thickness, and geological interpretation. These derived products will be integrated with other datasets to specifically assist with the development of land management plans at appropriate scales and to contribute to the understanding of hydrogeological processes. The project will also produce cost/benefit analyses and confidence level estimates associated with the use of airborne geophysical and other data (Woodgate et al., 1998).